2009 Boston Red Sox season
The 2009 Boston Red Sox season was the 109th season in the franchise's Major League Baseball history. The Red Sox finished second in the American League East with a record of 95–67, eight games behind the [2009 2009 New York Yankees season|New York Yankees season|New York Yankees], who went on to win the 2009 World Series. The Red Sox qualified for the postseason as the AL wild card but were swept by the American League West champion Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in the ALDS.
Regular season
The team introduced blue alternate jerseys, worn on some road games in place of their traditional gray tops.The Red Sox opened the season with a postponement due to rain. However, on April 7, the season began at Fenway with the first pitch being thrown by Edward Kennedy, who later died in August. The Red Sox got off to a slow start, going 2–6 in the first eight games. However, the Sox won 11 straight games beginning on April 15. The win streak was Boston's longest since 2006 when they had a 12-game win streak. A highlight of the streak was Jacoby Ellsbury's steal of home on April 26 to cap off a three-game sweep of the New York Yankees. They finished April with a record of 14–8 and tied with the [2009 2009 Toronto Blue Jays season|Toronto Blue Jays season|Toronto Blue Jays] for the division lead. Also, Jerry Remy, NESN color commentator, had surgery to remove a small area of cancer on his lung. While recovering he also got pneumonia. He also was suffering from fatigue and depression. These are the people who filled in for him: Dennis Eckersley, Dave Roberts, Buck Martinez, Tony Massarotti, Rance Mulliniks, Rex Hudler, Ron Coomer, Ken Rosenthal, Kevin Kennedy, Dwight Evans, Sean Casey, Jim Kaat, Gordon Edes, Bob Montgomery, Frank Viola, Sean McAdam, Brian Daubach, and Rick Dempsey.
The team flattened out in May, going 15–14 in the month and falling to third in the division behind the Yankees and the Blue Jays. Through the first two months of the season, slugger David Ortiz struggled, batting.185 with one home run. Additionally, pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka was placed on the disabled list after just two starts with an injury that manager Terry Francona attributed to his participation in the 2009 World Baseball Classic. Off the field, announcer Jerry Remy, of NESN television, was replaced by Dennis Eckersley beginning on May 6 as Remy began undergoing cancer treatment. Despite these struggles, the Red Sox set an American League record, tying the Major League record, on May 7 by scoring 12 runs without recording an out during the 6th inning of a game against the [2009 2009 Cleveland Indians season|Cleveland Indians season|Cleveland Indians].
The Red Sox took the division lead, and improved to the second-best record in MLB, during June. Through the first half of the month, the Sox played four division leaders, the Detroit Tigers, [2009 2009 Texas Rangers season|Texas Rangers season|Texas Rangers], New York Yankees, and Philadelphia Phillies, winning three of the four series and sweeping both the Tigers and Yankees. By sweeping the Yankees, the Sox improved to 8–0 against the team, the best record against them since sweeping the 14-game season series against them in 1912. At the All-Star break, the Red Sox had the second best record in Major League Baseball and held a three-game lead in the division.
The Red Sox faltered after the All-Star break, losing five of six on the road to the Toronto Blue Jays and Texas Rangers and batting.192 and scoring 13 runs. In response to the poor offensive performance and to make room for Jed Lowrie's return from injury, Julio Lugo was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals for cash and two minor-league players were traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Adam LaRoche on July 22, and on July 25 Mark Kotsay was designated for assignment. The Red Sox made a move at the trade deadline, July 31, to acquire catcher Victor Martinez from the Cleveland Indians for pitchers Justin Masterson, Nick Hagadone, and Bryan Price. They also traded Adam LaRoche to the Atlanta Braves for Casey Kotchman. After winning the first eight games of the season against their rival Yankees in the first half of the season, the Red Sox lost nine of the next ten to finish the season 9–9 against them.
One of the stranger victories for the Sox came on August 14 against the Texas Rangers. Going into the top of the 9th inning, the home Rangers were leading 4–2. Jacoby Ellsbury drove in David Ortiz to pull within one run and Jason Varitek was left on second base with no outs. Pitcher, Clay Buchholz came in to pinch run for Varitek with no outs. Dustin Pedroia doubled, but the inexperienced, and potentially tying run, Buchholz, was thrown out at the plate as he hesitated between second and third before attempting to score. All was shortly forgotten when the team scored five more runs to win 8–4. On August 21, Jacoby Ellsbury tied the record for the Red Sox single season record for stolen bases, in a game against the New York Yankees, a record previously held by Tommy Harper. Ellsbury then broke the record with his 55th steal on August 25, against the Chicago White Sox.
Opening Day lineup
| 46 | Jacoby Ellsbury | CF |
| 15 | Dustin Pedroia | 2B |
| 34 | David Ortiz | DH |
| 20 | Kevin Youkilis | 1B |
| 7 | J. D. Drew | RF |
| 44 | Jason Bay | LF |
| 25 | Mike Lowell | 3B |
| 12 | Jed Lowrie | SS |
| 33 | Jason Varitek | C |
| 19 | Josh Beckett | P |
Record vs. opponents
| Team | ATL | FLA | NYM | PHI | WSH |
| Boston | 4–2 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 2–1 |
Notable transactions
- November 19, 2008: Ramón Ramírez was acquired by the Red Sox from the Royals in exchange for Coco Crisp.
- December 28, 2008: Brad Penny signed as a free agent with the Red Sox.
- January 5, 2009: Nick Green signed as a free agent with the Red Sox.
- January 8, 2009: Rocco Baldelli signed as a free agent with the Red Sox.
- January 9, 2009: Mark Kotsay signed as a free agent with the Red Sox.
- January 10, 2009: Takashi Saito signed as a free agent with the Red Sox.
- January 12, 2009: John Smoltz signed as a free agent with the Red Sox.
- July 8, 2009: Jonathan Van Every was released by the Red Sox.
- July 22, 2009: Adam LaRoche was acquired by the Red Sox from the Pirates in exchange for Argenis Díaz and Hunter Strickland. In a separate trade, Chris Duncan was acquired by the Red Sox from the St. Louis Cardinals in exchange for Julio Lugo.
- July 28, 2009: Brian Anderson was acquired by the Red Sox from the Chicago White Sox in exchange for Mark Kotsay.
- July 31, 2009: Casey Kotchman was acquired by the Red Sox from the Braves in exchange for Adam LaRoche. In a separate trade, Víctor Martínez was acquired by the Red Sox from the Indians in exchange for Nick Hagadone, Justin Masterson, and Bryan Price.
- August 5, 2009: Paul Byrd signed as a free agent with the Red Sox.
- August 7, 2009: Chris Woodward was selected off waivers by the Red Sox from the Mariners.
- August 14, 2009: Álex González was acquired by the Red Sox from the Reds in exchange for Kristopher Negrón.
- August 17, 2009: John Smoltz was released by the Red Sox.
- August 21, 2009: Chris Duncan was released by the Red Sox.
- August 25, 2009: Billy Wagner was acquired by the Red Sox from the Mets in exchange players to be named later.
- August 27, 2009: Brad Penny was released by the Red Sox.
- August 29, 2009: Joey Gathright was purchased by the Red Sox from the Orioles.
Detailed record
| Month | Games | Won | Lost | Pct. |
| April | 22 | 14 | 8 | 0.636 |
| May | 29 | 15 | 14 | 0.517 |
| June | 26 | 18 | 8 | 0.692 |
| July | 25 | 13 | 12 | 0.520 |
| August | 28 | 16 | 12 | 0.571 |
| September | 28 | 15 | 13 | 0.536 |
| October | 4 | 4 | 0 | 1.000 |
| 162 | 95 | 67 | 0.586 |
Player stats
Batting
Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; R = Runs scored; H = Hits; 2B = Doubles; 3B = Triples; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; AVG = Batting average; SB = Stolen bases| Player | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | AVG | SB |
| Brian Anderson | 21 | 17 | 7 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | .294 | 0 |
| Jeff Bailey | 26 | 77 | 14 | 16 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 9 | .208 | 0 |
| Rocco Baldelli | 62 | 150 | 23 | 38 | 4 | 1 | 7 | 23 | .253 | 1 |
| Daniel Bard | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .--- | 0 |
| Aaron Bates | 5 | 11 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .364 | 0 |
| Jason Bay | 151 | 531 | 103 | 142 | 29 | 3 | 36 | 119 | .267 | 13 |
| Josh Beckett | 2 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | .200 | 0 |
| Dusty Brown | 6 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | .333 | 0 |
| Clay Buchholz | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .--- | 0 |
| Chris Carter | 4 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .000 | 0 |
| Manny Delcarmen | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .--- | 0 |
| J. D. Drew | 137 | 452 | 84 | 126 | 30 | 4 | 24 | 68 | .279 | 2 |
| Jacoby Ellsbury | 153 | 624 | 94 | 188 | 27 | 10 | 8 | 60 | .301 | 70 |
| Joey Gathright | 17 | 16 | 7 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .313 | 1 |
| Álex González | 44 | 148 | 26 | 42 | 10 | 0 | 5 | 15 | .284 | 2 |
| Nick Green | 103 | 276 | 35 | 65 | 18 | 0 | 6 | 35 | .236 | 1 |
| Casey Kotchman | 39 | 87 | 9 | 19 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 7 | .218 | 1 |
| Mark Kotsay | 27 | 74 | 4 | 19 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 | .257 | 1 |
| George Kottaras | 45 | 93 | 15 | 22 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 10 | .237 | 0 |
| Adam LaRoche | 6 | 19 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | .263 | 0 |
| Jon Lester | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 |
| Javier López | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .--- | 0 |
| Mike Lowell | 119 | 445 | 54 | 129 | 29 | 1 | 17 | 75 | .290 | 2 |
| Jed Lowrie | 32 | 68 | 5 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 11 | .147 | 0 |
| Julio Lugo | 37 | 109 | 16 | 31 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 8 | .284 | 3 |
| Víctor Martínez | 56 | 211 | 32 | 71 | 12 | 0 | 8 | 41 | .336 | 1 |
| Justin Masterson | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .--- | 0 |
| Daisuke Matsuzaka | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 |
| Hideki Okajima | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 |
| David Ortiz | 150 | 541 | 77 | 129 | 35 | 1 | 28 | 99 | .238 | 0 |
| Jonathan Papelbon | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .--- | 0 |
| Dustin Pedroia | 154 | 626 | 115 | 185 | 48 | 1 | 15 | 72 | .298 | 20 |
| Brad Penny | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 |
| Ramón Ramírez | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 |
| Josh Reddick | 27 | 59 | 5 | 10 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 4 | .169 | 0 |
| Takashi Saito | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .--- | 0 |
| John Smoltz | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 |
| Jonathan Van Every | 7 | 11 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | .364 | 0 |
| Jason Varitek | 109 | 364 | 41 | 76 | 24 | 0 | 14 | 51 | .209 | 0 |
| Gil Velazquez | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 |
| Tim Wakefield | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .500 | 0 |
| Chris Woodward | 13 | 12 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .083 | 0 |
| Kevin Youkilis | 136 | 491 | 99 | 150 | 36 | 1 | 27 | 94 | .305 | 7 |
| Team Totals | 162 | 5543 | 872 | 1495 | 335 | 25 | 212 | 822 | .270 | 126 |
- Source:
Pitching
Note: W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; G = Games pitched; GS = Games started; SV = Saves; IP = Innings pitched; R = Runs allowed; ER = Earned runs allowed; HR = Home Run Allowed; BB = Walks allowed; K = Strikeouts| Player | W | L | ERA | G | GS | SV | IP | R | ER | HR | BB | K |
| Daniel Bard | 2 | 2 | 3.65 | 49 | 0 | 1 | 49.1 | 24 | 20 | 5 | 22 | 63 |
| Josh Beckett | 17 | 6 | 3.86 | 32 | 32 | 0 | 212.1 | 99 | 91 | 25 | 55 | 199 |
| Michael Bowden | 1 | 1 | 9.56 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 16.0 | 17 | 17 | 3 | 6 | 12 |
| Dusty Brown | 0 | 0 | 9.00 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Clay Buchholz | 7 | 4 | 4.21 | 16 | 16 | 0 | 92.0 | 44 | 43 | 13 | 36 | 68 |
| Paul Byrd | 1 | 3 | 5.82 | 7 | 6 | 0 | 34.0 | 22 | 22 | 4 | 11 | 11 |
| Fernando Cabrera | 0 | 0 | 8.44 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 5.1 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 8 |
| Manny Delcarmen | 5 | 2 | 4.53 | 64 | 0 | 0 | 59.2 | 34 | 30 | 5 | 34 | 44 |
| Enrique González | 0 | 0 | 4.91 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3.2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| Nick Green | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| Hunter Jones | 0 | 0 | 9.24 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 12.2 | 13 | 13 | 3 | 7 | 9 |
| Jon Lester | 15 | 8 | 3.41 | 32 | 32 | 0 | 203.1 | 80 | 77 | 20 | 64 | 225 |
| Javier López | 0 | 2 | 9.26 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 11.2 | 13 | 12 | 1 | 9 | 5 |
| Justin Masterson | 3 | 3 | 4.50 | 31 | 6 | 0 | 72.0 | 38 | 36 | 7 | 25 | 67 |
| Daisuke Matsuzaka | 4 | 6 | 5.76 | 12 | 12 | 0 | 59.1 | 38 | 38 | 10 | 30 | 54 |
| Hideki Okajima | 6 | 0 | 3.39 | 68 | 0 | 0 | 61.1 | 23 | 23 | 8 | 21 | 53 |
| Jonathan Papelbon | 1 | 1 | 1.85 | 66 | 0 | 38 | 68.0 | 15 | 14 | 5 | 24 | 76 |
| Brad Penny | 7 | 8 | 5.61 | 24 | 24 | 0 | 131.2 | 89 | 82 | 17 | 42 | 89 |
| Ramón Ramírez | 7 | 4 | 2.84 | 70 | 0 | 0 | 69.2 | 26 | 22 | 7 | 32 | 52 |
| Dustin Richardson | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Takashi Saito | 3 | 3 | 2.43 | 56 | 0 | 2 | 55.2 | 16 | 15 | 6 | 25 | 52 |
| John Smoltz | 2 | 5 | 8.33 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 40.0 | 37 | 37 | 8 | 9 | 33 |
| Junichi Tazawa | 2 | 3 | 7.46 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 25.1 | 23 | 21 | 4 | 9 | 13 |
| Billy Traber | 0 | 0 | 12.27 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3.2 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| Jonathan Van Every | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Billy Wagner | 1 | 1 | 1.98 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 13.2 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 7 | 22 |
| Tim Wakefield | 11 | 5 | 4.58 | 21 | 21 | 0 | 129.2 | 67 | 66 | 12 | 50 | 72 |
| Team Totals | 95 | 67 | 4.35 | 162 | 162 | 41 | 1436.2 | 736 | 695 | 167 | 530 | 1230 |
- Source:
Awards and honors
;Awards- Jason Bay – Silver Slugger Award
- Josh Beckett – AL Player of the Week
- Mike Lowell – AL Player of the Week
;Recognition
- On December 22, 2009, Sports Illustrated named general manager Theo Epstein as No. 3 on its list of the Top 10 GMs/Executives of the Decade. The list's only other MLB general managers were Seattle and Philadelphia's Pat Gillick and Oakland's Billy Beane.
Farm system
The Class A-Advanced affiliate changed from the Lancaster JetHawks to the Salem Red Sox.Source: